One of the last lines of this book, “I hope… you strengthen and encourage those who are committed to your care instead of protecting them to the point of weakness.” I hope to live up to this. My whole life I was “protected” from things that would make me stronger. I never want to “protect” anyone like this.
When I had my dogs, I spoiled them by all means. But when I thought they were trying to get me to do something for them that they were more than capable of doing for themselves, I told them, “You do.” I wanted my “kids” to be independent and capable. I want everyone around me to be independent and capable. The world would be a better place if everyone had confidence in themselves and their abilities.
This book is Amazing! Amazing with a capital A. I have not read a book this filled with information and wisdom, since I read my family’s cult playbook for the first time(The 48 Laws of Power). It was hard to read this book quickly, because I wanted to take the time to let it all simmer and sink in. But it is a thick and heavy book. So I had to finish it up, because I am tired of lugging it around.
12 Rules For Life is one of those books that needs to be written in, underlined, and read more than once. Jordan Peterson’s mind is beautiful and unparalleled . I found his lectures on YouTube in 2018 and had heard of his books. But never had an opportunity to read them until now. I was not even looking for them. I just wander in the non-fiction sections at the local library and see what I see and find.
The 12 Rules For Life:
- Stand up straight with your shoulders back
- Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
- Make friends with people who want the best for you
- Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
- Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
- Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
- Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
- Tell the truth–or at lead, don’t lie
- Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t
- Be precise in your speech
- Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
- Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
“Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities…As the great nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so brilliantly noted, “He whose life has a why can bear almost any how.””(From Rule 2)
“…people who experience evil may certainly desire to perpetuate it, to pay it forward. But it is also possible to learn good by experiencing evil.”(From Rule 6)
“Say what you mean, so that you can find out what you mean. Act out what you say, so you can find out what happens. Then pay attention. Note your errors. Articulate them. Strive to correct them. That is how you discover the meaning of your life.”(From Rule 10)
Philosophy was my love before I found science. Peterson also talks about Victor Frankel in this book, but he does not mention Logos Therapy. Did you know that Peterson has a special interest of totalitarian dictators? He literally knows more about my relatives Hitler, Stalin, and Mao(he did not mention Pinochet) than maybe any other person on Earth. I wonder where this special interest came from? You all know one of my special interests is the Holocaust. Maybe these interests run in our family?
I would suggest everyone read this book. My family’s cult playbook(48 Laws of Power) is an important read, so you know how people are destroying you. But right after that you need to read this book, 12 Rules For Life. I have spent a great deal of my life studying philosophy, spirituality, and religion. Yet, this book encompasses so much wisdom that I will need to read it a few more times to fully consume it. And there is a sequel to this book as well, called Beyond Order.
I greatly look forward to one day having more time and freedom to fully consume this book and it’s sequel.